Thursday, February 16, 2012

I'm finally back for part two of my CHA 2012 report. The first half of the first day of the show, as I said in the part 1 report was a bit of a mixed bag what with my various health issues and such, but it ended on a very high note after a very promising meeting with an art director from a large home decor company.

I was very excited about the other art director meetings I had coming up in the next two days, but the first order of business before those was to put my Designer Showcase table together. The Designer Showcase, a venue for individual industry artists, crafters, instructors and more to display their products and designs primarily for manufacturers and the press, was slated to run Monday and Tuesday in parallel with the show. We had about an hour to put our tables together before the show opened Monday morning. I was SO grateful to have the help of my niece and sister-in-law and brother who flew into town Saturday. And of course my sweet hubby John who was so incredibly helpful every step of the way!

The table turned out pretty well, but the process was not without some heartburn. I did not finalize many of the display items before we flew in - I simply packed all the needed supplies in a huge suitcase and counted on being able to work on them in the hotel before Monday. Well, that is exactly what I did, but I WAY underestimated how long it would take to get it all done. I was up until 2:30 AM finalizing it all - not a smart idea. But all in all, I was happy with it. Here are some of the details...

We had a Designer Showcase reception from 6-8 PM Monday night which allowed us to stand near our tables and meet and chat with art directors, manufacturers and other attendees, as well as the other designers. I had a wonderful time at the reception and met a lot of wonderful people and even got some solid leads for possible licensing work. The best part to me however was meeting the other designers and artists - what a TALENTED and SWEET bunch of folks!!

Late Monday afternoon, on the exhibit floor before the reception, I had a meeting with art directors from a large fabric company, and it went really well. Also met with another fabric company and a partyware company on Tuesday - all great meetings with promising feedback and requests to send samples!! I just couldn't be happier with the way it all shaped up!!

By the way, I bought a pair of tennis shoes at Walmart early Tuesday morning and wore them on Tuesday and Wednesday, and I was like a new woman!! I really didn't care if it was stylish, it made me more comfortable and relaxed which really helped me have a better time. Anyway, I spent a lot of my time sitting behind my table across from clients who looked at my book, so the shoes were rarely even seen. I didn't care either way though - I was just so happy to be comfy! Live and learn...

I can't possibly name all the fabulous people I met and got to know because I would surely forget someone and I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Suffice to say that the people were the highlight of the trip for me - from passers- by who said the nicest things, to my talented booth and Designer Showcase neighbors, and the wonderful new clients, and the CHA staff, and manufacturers and retailers - so many sweet souls who enriched my life in so many ways - what a blessing!!

And business-wise, I couldn't have asked for more!! I have a pile of work to do to get samples out and I am cranking through as fast as I can. The follow-up with these wonderful clients and new contacts is my full time job now and it's going great so far. I hope to have good news for you a little later in the Spring as *hopefully* new contracts come my way! We'll see, but even if nothing quite works out this time, I already have my foot in the door with a number of large and small companies and the benefit of face-to-face contact with their decision makers, so that is a very good thing indeed...

Here's a tiny sneak peek montage of some of the designs I'm working on for the partyware manufacturer...just to give you a taste of what I've been up to...

Thanks to all of you as you have encouraged me in the various creative ventures I have undertaken. I am so blessed to have your love and support, and I am so excited to share this exciting new chapter with you!

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One final note - thank you folks for your prayers for my family as we lost my Aunt Judy last week and attended her funeral on Monday. The family is grieving but doing really pretty well. My Aunt was loved by SO many people and they showed up in droves for the viewing and funeral. We are a very blessed family and I am so blessed for having her in my life...

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Hello friends! I'm finally ready to do a CHA 2012 wrap up complete with photos and some reflections on the whole experience. In a word: WOW!! It was an AMAZING experience from start to finish! Here are just a few of the highlights and details...

Setting up the booth on Friday and Saturday went pretty much without a hitch, except for the fact that we had nothing to stand on to hang the banners (the convention folks had not passes out our chairs yet). But our friendly veteran-exhibitor neighbors helped us with some ingenuity, namely stacking up wood palettes to stand on - not an OSHA approved method I assure you, but it worked. Here are a few photos of the booth all set up...

We gussied-up the plain sign just a bit with these cutout flowers, pipe cleaners and pom-poms...

the view looking in from the middle...

...and the left side...

...then the right...

I couldn't have been happier with how the banners worked out. We got a lot of great feedback on them! Once again, we got them from Empire Banners, about whom I cannot say enough good things!! Best online order experience I have ever had, start to finish! And we were easily able to check them as baggage on the plane in the same box they were shipped in. And for those of you who may be planning a similar booth in the future, we bought shower curtain hooks for the tops of the banners, added a strip of velcro to smooth the middle part at the top between the hooks where it tended to gap, and used 3M Command Strips with small hooks to secure the grommets at the bottom. Worked pretty well.

Sunday was the first official day of the show. Although I didn't have any set appointments that day with the VIP Art Directors that CHA invited to our Licensing/Design section, I knew that some of them might drop in at any time. I was a bit nervous, but mostly just excited. But there were couple of problems right off the bat. I got sick. Not a horrible flu kind of sick, but more of an allergy, upper respiratory thing. But the worst part was I woke up with NO voice on Sunday - couldn't talk at all. Not good. But after several cups of hot coffee and a hot shower, I was a little better, but my voice was iffy pretty much the entire show. Oh, and one more thing - DO NOT wear new shoes on the first day, or any day of a trade show. At 50 years old, I should know better. I wore a new pair of black shoes which were actually quite comfortable, which is why I bought them, but the sides of shoes were a little high and rubbed the most horrible blisters all along the back of my heel and the sides of my ankles. Yikes. My sweet hubby had to go to the first aid station to get me some band-aids, which helped a little, but by this time the damage was done. Lesson learned...

As Sunday progressed into the afternoon, I began to get a bit anxious. I hadn't had but a couple of passers by stop by and I was beginning to worry that the whole show was going to be a bust. And you know how your mind works when you start thinking that way - you think about ALL the money you just spent (which by the way was probably about double what I expected), and you begin to get insecure about your work, especially when you're surrounded by so many very talented artists and licensing companies. It's stinkin-thinkin, and if you let it, it can really wreck your whole attitude. But, I was so blessed to have the encouragement and reassurance of my sweet booth neighbors who told me that the first day is always slow and not to worry, and that our booth looked great and it was sure to be a hit. That helped a lot and I was grateful for the kind words. But then, one of the VIP Art Directors from a large home decor/gift manufacturer stopped by and we had the most wonderful meeting! They looked at the banners and then my bound portfolio and began to tell me to send them this sample and that art and that collection and those images - wow, I couldn't believe it! If any of the work I sent them pans out, it could be a MAJOR boon to my little fledgling company! I hope to have news to share on that later this Spring...we'll see...

The best part of that meeting was the great advice that this art director gave. It was wonderful to hear such helpful suggestions from someone who themselves had been an illustrator for over 20 years. They really took the time to share insights as well as encouragement to me. It was just the pick-me-up I needed. And as it turned out, it was just the first of several such meeting that I was to have in the coming days of the show. I will tell you more about that in my next report (which I will try to post early tomorrow morning).

But meanwhile, here is a sneak-peek photo of my Designer Showcase table that I had in addition to my show floor booth. I'll tell you more about the Designer Showcase experience in my next report too - it was a lot of fun/a lot of work to do, but I think is was a real success...

I will also tell you about the BEST part of the whole show for me - the LOVELY people I met - what an incredible collection of kind, creative souls! they were the highlight for sure!

I want to thank all of you for your prayers and support since I first announced that I was going to do this show. I know I wouldn't have made it without it! Looking forward to sharing more tomorrow if possible...thanks for your patience as I continue to work through all the post-show follow up.

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Oh, and one more thing, on a completely different topic. My wonderful Aunt Judy, one of my Mom's younger sisters, passed away late this week after a brave 3+ year battle with brain cancer. She was a very youthful 69 years old, a delight to everyone who knew her, and she will be greatly missed. The funeral is this coming Monday. I would certainly welcome your prayers for our family. Though we know she is whole and free and in the arms of Jesus, the loss is still hard on all of us...thank you...

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I'm a ridiculously happy 50-something year old newlywed, who recently left a big corporate career to pursue my dream of being a freelance illustrator. I also love to tinker with photography and decorating. SDG is my motto - Soli Deo Gloria - to God alone be the Glory for anything that may bring joy from this blog!

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